Kenya model: Development and implementation of an overseas study course on African wildlife ecology and management

The brochure declares: What better place to study a diversity of wildlife species and ecosystems than Kenya\u27s spectacular National Parks and Conservation Areas? Enticing! Exhilarating! A once in a life time experience! African Wildlife Ecology and Management in Kenya is an intensive two and a half week overseas study program offered by Michigan State University\u27s (MSU) Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Through this hands-on experience, students apply wildlife management principles to issues in Kenya\u27s National Parks and Conservation Areas. Planning and coordination of this course requires a year\u27s worth of thoughtful preparation in order to provide students with a dynamic yet placid in-country experience. To better aid other educators and coordinators in development and implementation of similar courses, we present a detailed account of the history and evolution of African Wildlife Ecology and Management in Kenya. How was this course conceived? How was support garnered from the University? What is required for developing such a course? Furthermore, we present information on why different sites within Kenya were selected and how the order of visitation to these sites allows for a logical progression and increasingly more elaborate acquisition of knowledge of course material. Finally, we describe the various projects assigned to students and the rational for assigning them; the basis for using student groups throughout the in-country experience; the use of alternative forms of assessment to evaluate student learning; assigned readings and course packet development and contents; and implications of limited time and lack of technology while in-country

Improving the Back Surface Field on an Amorphous Silicon Carbide Thin‐Film Photocathode for Solar Water Splitting

Amorphous silicon carbide (a‐SiC:H) is a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting owing to its relatively small band‐gap energy and high chemical and optoelectrical stability. This work studies the interplay between charge‐carrier separation and collection, and their injection into the electrolyte, when modifying the semiconductor/electrolyte interface. By introducing an n‐doped nanocrystaline silicon oxide layer into a p‐doped/intrinsic a‐SiC:H photocathode, the photovoltage and photocurrent of the device can be significantly improved, reaching values higher than 0.8 V. This results from enhancing the internal electric field of the photocathode, reducing the Shockley–Read–Hall recombination at the crucial interfaces because of better charge‐carrier separation. In addition, the charge‐carrier injection into the electrolyte is enhanced by introducing a TiO2 protective layer owing to better band alignment at the interface. Finally, the photocurrent was further enhanced by tuning the absorber layer thickness, arriving at a thickness of 150 nm, after which the current saturates to 10 mA cm−2 at 0 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode in a 0.2 m aqueous potassium hydrogen phthalate (KPH) electrolyte at pH 4

Analysis of Outcomes in Ischemic vs Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report From the GARFIELD-AF Registry

IMPORTANCE Congestive heart failure (CHF) is commonly associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and their combination may affect treatment strategies and outcomes